Advanced Excel 10/20/2011 1

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1 Advanced Excel Data Validation Excel has a feature called Data Validation, which will allow you to control what kind of information is typed into cells. 1. Select the cell(s) you wish to control. 2. Click on the Data tab on the Ribbon and then click on the Data Validation command in the Data Tools group. 3. Use the three tabs in the dialog box to set the controls. Continue to the next tab by clicking on its name. Do NOT click on the OK button until you have entered information on ALL three tabs! Choose the Settings for what kind of information will be allowed in the cells. Work on this area from top to bottom. Type the Input Message to let users of the spreadsheet know what is expected to be entered into the cells. Select the style of Error Alert and type the message that will appear if incorrect information is entered into the cell. Remember that the Stop style is the only one that will completely prevent the user from entering unwanted information. The Warning and Information styles will provide them with an option that allows them to override your settings. Rules for Creating Lists All of the information about one item must be on one row. This row is referred to as a record. Each column is referred to as a field. Lists cannot contain blank rows or columns. Blank rows and columns form the boundaries of a list and tells Excel where a list ends and a new list begins. The first row of a list should be the header row, which means it should contain the field names for each column. Lists should be placed on separate worksheets. Do not put two different lists in the same worksheet. AutoFilters An AutoFilter is a method by which a list is limited to temporarily show only those records that meet specific criteria. Records that do not meet the criteria are hidden, but are not deleted. To Use the AutoFilter: 1. Click on any one cell in the list. 2. Click on the Data tab on the Ribbon and then click on the Filter command in the Sort & Filter group. 3. Each cell in the header row now has a Drop Down Arrow. Click on one of the Drop Down Arrows for the list of criteria within that field that you are able to limit by. 4. To return to showing all records, click on the Clear command in the Sort & Filter group in the Data tab on the Ribbon. 5. To turn the Autofilter off (remove the Drop Down Arrows from the header row), click on the Filter command again in the Sort & Filter group in the Data tab on the Ribbon. 10/20/2011 1

2 Functions Functions are more complicated formulas that perform a specific mathematical operation. To locate the list of functions available: Click on the Formula tab on the Ribbon and click on the Insert Function command in the Function Library group, or Click on the Insert Function shortcut button in front of the Formula Bar. Once the Insert Function dialog box appears on the screen, you can select a category from the menu in the middle and then a function name from the list at the bottom or do a keyword search for a function using the search area at the top. Note that when a function name is selected, a description of the calculation the function performs is displayed at the bottom of the dialog box below the menus. After the function has been selected and the OK button clicked, the Function Arguments dialog box appears. In these text entry boxes, is where the numbers, cell names, or ranges are entered to enable Excel to compute the answer to the function. Cell Protection Individual cells can be protected from accidental change by using the Protection feature. When the protection is turned on, all cells with the Locked property cannot be changed. By default all cells are locked but the protection is off. Steps to Protecting Cells: 1. Select the cells to be unlocked. These are cells where changes will be permitted. 2. Click on the Home tab on the Ribbon 3. Click on the dialog box launcher in the Font, Alignment, or Number group. 4. On the Format Cells dialog box, click on the Protection tab. 5. Click to remove the checkmark from the Locked checkbox and click on the OK button. 6. Repeat steps 1 through 4 above for all cells or cell ranges where changes WILL be permitted. 7. To turn on the protection for all the other cells, click on the Review tab on the Ribbon and then click on the Protect Sheet command in the Changes group. 8. The default for this setting allows users to select Unlocked cells; only the contents of Unlocked cells can be edited. 9. It is optional to set a password. Protection can be turned off and on without a password. However, if you forget your password, there will be no way for you to EVER alter the protection again. 10. Click on the OK button. Turning Off Protection: 1. Click on the Review tab on the Ribbon and then click on the Unprotect Sheet command in the Changes group. 10/20/2011 2

3 Importing Data Occasionally, you may have data from a non-excel source that you want to work with in Excel. If you can save the data in a text file with a delimiter, you can then import that data into Excel (in this text file, each row is a row of text, and each column is marked by a delimiter usually a single character that is not found in the data). NOTE: The method for exporting data will depend on the program you re using consult the manual for that software for help. Importing data from a text file: 1. Create a new Excel workbook. 2. Click on the Data tab on the Ribbon and then click the From Text button. 3. In the file dialog box, find the text file that contains your data and open it. 4. The Text Import Wizard will open and guide you through three steps. a. Step 1, choose Delimited and click Next. b. Step 2 will ask you to choose your delimiter this may be a comma, a space, or just about any other character. If the character you need is not one of the options, check the Other box and type the character there (make sure that only one delimiter is selected). Click Next. c. Step 3 will allow you to change the Column data format General will work in most cases. Click Next. d. Click Finish. 5. A dialog box will open asking where you want to put the imported; choose a location and click OK. Your data has now been imported into Excel. Pivot Tables A pivot table is a way to graphically analyze data, which is very helpful in finding patterns and trends in data that may not be obvious in the standard columns and rows layout of a spreadsheet. The term pivot table is a generic term and is used across different types of software. Microsoft s particular implementation is called PivotTable. To create a PivotTable: 1. Enter your data in Excel. 2. Click on the Insert tab on the Ribbon, and then click on the PivotTable button. 3. Excel will try to guess what data you want to use for the PivotTable. If Excel s guess is correct, choose where you want to insert the PivotTable (a New Worksheet is usually best) and click OK. If Excel s guess is not correct, choose the data and then choose the location for the PivotTable and click OK. 4. Excel will open the PivotTable Field List. You can drag the fields from the top half into any of the four sections at the bottom (Report Filter, Column Labels, Row Labels, or Values). 10/20/2011 3

4 5. As you drag the fields to the different sections, you ll see your PivotTable appear on the left of the screen. 6. To filter data, hover over the field name until it is highlighted, and then click on the arrow. A popup will appear, allowing you to choose the information to filter. In this example, all of the options for status will show up. If you wanted to filter out any data with a status of Walk-In, just uncheck the box. 7. If you add any fields to the Report Filter, you can change that filter in the spreadsheet portion of the PivotTable. In this example, ClassId has been added to the Report Filter. Clicking on the arrow beside (All) will open the popup to change the filter settings. There are many other options in working with PivotTables. The best way to learn how to use them is to practice try different fields in the columns, use different filters, etc. Remember that with PivotTables, you are not changing your original data you are only summarizing it. Date Math Excel keeps track of dates by assigning to each day since January 1, 1900 a consecutive number. For example, January 1, 1900 is 1. January 2, 1900 is 2. July 4, 1976 is August 3, 2005 is This allows the user to set up a typical formula to subtract one date from another by using the cell names that contain the dates. Use the Format Cell dialog box to format the cell with the result as a number instead of a date. Click on the dialog box launcher in the Font, Alignment, or Number group on the Home tab of the Ribbon to open the Format Cells dialog box. Excel Pre-Existing Templates Templates are pre-existing workbooks that already contain text, formulas, and/or functions. Excel comes with several templates already or you can create and save your own. To Access the Excel Templates: 1. Click on the File Tab and then click on New from the drop down menu. This will open the Available Templates in Backstage View. 10/20/2011 4

5 2. The bottom half of the screen under Office.com Templates, click on a template category of your choice, make your selection from the choices in the middle of the dialog box, and then click on the Create button in the bottom right corner of the dialog box. NOTE this will work only if the computer you are using has an active Internet connection. You can also access templates from Microsoft Office Online by visiting their web site at office.microsoft.com. 10/20/2011 5